Bulls believe Sloan quit, as he said, because it was time

They discount reports he left because of rift with Williams

NEW ORLEANS — You may have heard reports Jerry Sloan quit the Jazz after 23 years because of a rift with point guard Deron Williams?

Carlos Boozer and Ronnie Brewer have. And the former Jazz players are not buying it.

"I can't speculate because I'm not in the locker room anymore," said Boozer, who signed with the Bulls after playing six seasons for Sloan. "But I'll tell you this: From my years being there, nobody can push Jerry out of coaching. He was in a position where he could leave whenever he wanted to.

"I don't believe Deron pushed him out or that management pushed him out. … All I know is that when I was there, (Sloan) ran it."

Brewer said that until Wednesday, "I thought (Sloan) was going to coach another five years because he was so passionate about the game, he enjoyed coming to work every day and was such a fixture on the sideline."

Brewer, who played his first three seasons for Sloan, said of the reports that Williams caused his ouster: "I think it's a little more than that. I know D-Will. He's a good guy. The guys in that locker room are good guys. And I think they were shocked and disappointed as well.

"I really don't know how much to read into that. But it's basketball and when you have a team, it's like a family atmosphere. As everyone knows, families argue and sometimes have disagreements. You have that on every team, but you have to be able to move on and look forward."

Williams, a former Illinois star, said much the same to KFAN radio in Salt Lake City: "I don't want to say we've had a rocky relationship, but we've had our disagreements over the years, probably no more than any other coach and player have. … We're both very stubborn and I think that's where we clashed. But one thing we always agreed on is that we wanted to win."

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau has so much respect for Sloan, he accepts Sloan's "it's time to move on" explanation.

"With Jerry, there's nothing he hasn't been through," Thibodeau said in reference to the clashing-with-Williams report that came out of Tuesday night's loss to the Bulls. "I think he was being totally honest, it was time to move on. You don't let one disagreement … he has handled everything that comes his way with dignity and class.

"He stands for everything that's good about the game and the profession. He's an all-time great. He might even be the best. To do it the way he did it for that long is incredible."

Boozer said he left Sloan, a Bulls icon as a player who won 1,127 games at the helm for the Jazz, a voice mail: "I wished him the best of luck and told him it was an honor playing for him. Good luck finding happiness in retirement."

Boozer also texted Sloan's replacement, former De Paul star Ty Corbin, to say good luck.

"I don't think anybody saw anything like this coming," Boozer said of Sloan's departure. "He's old school. He only asks one thing: play hard — and stay together. That's what he taught us every day, and that's what we did."